PMH Capital Projects Update

Construction progress continued over the summer on key capital projects within Prairie Mountain Health (PMH). Two of the big projects involve both the Brandon and Dauphin Regional Health Centres.

At Brandon Regional Health Centre (BRHC), construction on the $13.75 million project has entered the home stretch. Redevelopment work on the fifth floor of the General Centre was completed at the end of March 2018.

Work has since focused on the east end of the fourth floor (400). It is anticipated that the turnover from contractors on the east end of the fourth floor will occur around mid-October. From there, construction crews will move over to the west end of the fourth floor to begin demolition/renovation work.

When all phases are complete, BRHC will see an increase in medical beds from 48 to 60, with washrooms that are wheelchair accessible, along with expanded and improved areas for patients, staff and family support. It is anticipated the BRHC Redevelopment Project will be completed in mid-2019.

At Dauphin Regional Health Centre, overall construction work moved past the halfway point in June and phase three work continues to enclose the EMS (ambulance) garage area and redeveloped link to the Personal Care Home. Mechanical and electrical rough-in and interior steel stud work also continues for the main Emergency Department area and exterior brick installation is also now underway.

It is anticipated phase three will be completed around March/April 2019. Following that, one more phase needs to be completed— demolition and reconstruction of the entire front entrance/ramp area. Work on that fourth phase is not expected to be completed until late summer 2019.

Linked to overall work taking place at DRHC, the new MRI building addition will soon be outfitted so the actual MRI unit itself can be safely installed. The MRI unit is expected to arrive in late October.

After installation, a period of testing and validation, plus the purchase of some specific MRI-safe equipment like stretchers and wheelchairs, it is anticipated the unit will be fully operational in November 2018.